All publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Worldwide, an estimated 350,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia each year, with approximately 257,000 deaths annually (International Agency for Research on Cancer). In the U.S. alone, an estimated 274,930 people are living with leukemia, with about 90 percent of all leukemia diagnosed in adults (World Health Organization). In 2012, 47,150 new patients were diagnosed, with only about 50 percent expected to survive (American Cancer Society). While conventional frontline therapies are effective in many cases, it is obvious from the low survival rate of leukemia patients that there is an imperative for improvement.
Leukemia is very expensive to treat, and many patients are unable to afford treatment. Most patients with leukemia are treated with chemotherapy (Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center). Just one chemotherapy treatment can cost $150,000, usually with several treatments needed. An optional treatment, bone-marrow transplants are known to cost $250,000 or more (Edgar Law Firm, Santa Rosa, Calif.). The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Trends Progress Report: 2011-2012 update estimates that $5.4 billion is spent in the United States each year on leukemia treatment, or more than $114,500 for each of the 47,150 patients diagnosed in 2012.
Herein, we provide a drug delivery system, in which hybrid polymerized liposomal nanoparticles (HPLNs) are utilized to encapsulate cancer drugs and deliver the cancer drugs to the cancer cells. The described delivery system can be used for encapsulating virtually any drug of interest and targeting to any tissue for which there is a known unique or specific cell marker. Therefore this invention provides a very versatile platform technology.
The HPLNs described herein offer a major advantage over many other types of delivery particle substances by employing a unique type of nanoparticle material that is both biocompatible and enhances the bioavailability of the drugs encapsulated within. In addition, the technology is customized by adjusting the particle properties so that a high amount of the drug agent is contained within, and actually solidified into a crystal. Still another differentiating feature is a customization process that appends a tumor-targeting molecule to the surface of the particle, thus improving the particles' selectivity in accessing tumorous cells while avoiding healthy tissues.
Through the use of drugs encapsulated in HPLNs, physicians treating cancer patients may see a significant increase in the therapeutic window of existing cancer chemotherapeutic substances by minimizing dose-related toxicity on non-cancerous cells. For these patients, the HPLNs described herein hold the promise of more effective treatment, accomplished through several significant attributes: a) shorter treatment time, b) fewer hospital visits, c) less damage to normal tissues, d) more rapid recovery, and e) greater chance of survival.